Dungeon Creation Rules, First Draft
[h=2]Creation[/h]Dungeons in Amulet are created one room at a time, and any given room can, through the process of random generation, reveal itself to actually be part of another, larger room. The following rules apply to creating the dungeon levels as you go. Roll 2d8 to find table results.
THE MAPPER – [sblock]Generating each room is the responsibility of the GM, or the mapper in a GM-less game. The mapper’s job is to quickly roll on each dungeon-generation table, and once the size, shape, and exits of a room are determined, to orient the room and draw it on a map that all players can see. The size of this map isn’t as important as the ability of all players to understand what all symbols on the map mean.[/sblock]
LEVEL SIZE – [sblock]As a rule of thumb, all dungeon levels in Amulet should be about the same size. You can establish what this size is by using the first level as a template for all following levels, or by declaring that each level will be approximately X units (see Room Size) square. The size of your map might be a practical determinant of X; if you’re playing an objective that requires going back through previous levels, you’ll want to have room to leave previous levels on your map! Note that there must be a maximum level size, because the final room drawn – the one that fills the last available space before exceeding Level Size – must contain a Stair if there are no other Stairs on that level.[/sblock]
ROOM SIZE – [sblock]The first roll in dungeon generation is Room Size. This determines the maximum dimension, in units, of the room that you’re generating. The first room in a level can be of any size. However, each additional room must not exceed the maximum dimension available on the map. If a generated room size cannot fit between existing rooms or within the Level Size, that room’s size must be reduced to what will fit. A “unit” is the minimum wall length, and can be considered about 10 feet. Angular walls, those at 45 degree angles to standard walls, are a bit longer. The room size is also a multiplier used in determining the maximum health of a swarm filling a given room. “GM” stands for “GM’s choice.”
| Roll | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Result | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | GM |
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ROOM SHAPE – [sblock]There are five random room shapes. The opening of special doors, or walls that turn out to be made of treasure (see Exit Types), can create larger, more interesting rooms. However, each room starts small. The mapper may decide the orientation of each new room, but the room must share at least one side with the previous room. Room orientations must occur within 45 degree intervals, i.e. no room walls may be drawn at an angle that is not evenly divisible by 45. A Hallway drawn at 45 degrees may be cropped at either end to connect with other rooms.
Square: all sides of this room equal the Room Size.
Rectangle: the longer sides of this room equal the Room Size. The shorter sides must be less than the Room Size, but more than one unit, if possible.
Hallway: the longer sides of this room equal Room Size, while the shorter sides equal one unit.
Triangle: the hypotenuse of this room equals Room Size. All Triangle rooms must have one vertical and one horizontal wall.
Circle: the diameter of this room equals Room Size. This room may be drawn smoothly, or with walls
| Roll | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Result | Sq | Re | Ha | Tr | Ci | Sq | Re | Ha | Ti | Ci | Sq | Re | Ha | Tr | GM |
Sq=Square, Re=Rectangle, Ha=Hallway, Tr=Triangle, Ci=Circle, GM=GM’s choice
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EXITS – [sblock]Determining the exits from a new room requires three steps: finding the number, location, and type of exits.
Number of exits: a room can have 1-4 exits. Rooms with 1 exit are only accessible via the route that the PCs used to enter them. Rooms with 1 exit, when they were accessed by a secret door, only contain a number of treasures equal to Room Size. If a room cannot accommodate all the exits rolled, the GM may place a teleporter or Stair instead.
Location of exits: the first exit is in the position first used to access the room. The remaining exits are located (or just are) in the cardinal directions rolled. If an exit turns out to be impossible after the location and type are determined (like rolling two exits on a one-unit wall), make it a teleporter. If two such exits are impossible, add a Stair to the room instead. When a side of the room is at 45 degrees, that wall can take exits for two cardinal directions, like west and south. When the room being generated shares a wall with another room, and the previous wall had no exit (or an undiscovered secret exit), then an exit generated in that wall for the new room will represent a secret exit. When the previous wall had an exit, one of the exits generated for the new room must be located here.
Type of exits: several types of exits are possible, and some serve to make smaller rooms into effectively larger rooms.
Stair: this exit leads to the next lower dungeon level. The torches of the lower level ignite when all PCs have arrived, and each PC gains 10 bonus health at this time as well from the slightly fresher air. Unfortunately, the soot from the lower torches rises up to the previous dungeon level, making survival on the previous level quite impossible.
Crumble: a dungeon wall that is ready to collapse. Three actions of attacks (three from one character, or three simultaneous attacks from different characters) are required to destroy a crumbling wall, which is always one unit wide. Mark a Crumble by drawing the wall as a wavy line.
Secret: this exit’s location cannot be determined during room generation. Characters must use Speed contests (or search actions like detect skill or appropriate professions or knowledges when using core rules) on each wall to find a secret door. Roll +0 for the opposing contest, or use the Dungeon Level as a bonus if you’re Scaling the dungeon. The first PC to beat the opposition finds the secret door in the location he chose to search. Secret doors are usually one unit wide. Each contest requires one action. Mark a secret door, once it has been found, by writing an S across the line.
Walldoor: some keys open more than a small portal. When you place a magic key in a walldoor’s lock, two or more units of wall sink into the ground. If a walldoor’s length is greater than the Room Size of the next room behind it, then the remaining portion of walldoor leads to yet another room. For example, a character opens a 4-unit walldoor. Generating the next room, you find that the Room Size is only 3. Since the new room cannot close the entire gap behind the walldoor, you must generate a second room to fill the remaining unit of walldoor. Mark a Walldoor by writing a C across its segment. Once the Walldoor is open, turn the C into an O.
Door: a standard door opens with a magic key and measures one unit. Mark a Door with a C, and once it is open, an O.
Open: an opening into another room that measures one or more units. Open exits have a nasty habit of hiding more swarms. If characters do not immediately investigate an open area (requiring room generation), the next room’s Size and Encounter should be rolled as a minimum to see if any monsters will want to attack. Mark an open exit with an O.
Food: this is a one-unit opening into another room, filled with a food-ward (see Room Contents). Mark a food-ward with two ticks (forming an F). Once the ward disappears, connect the two ticks into an O.
Treasure: some walls are made entirely of treasure-wards (see Room Contents). The GM may determine this wall’s size, from 1 unit to the full length of the wall. Mark Treasure wall segments with one tick in each unit. When someone collects that Treasure, form it into an O.
Teleport: an area in the floor, about three feet in diameter, glows with an eerie blue light. When PCs use a teleporter, pick any area on the map that does not feature a room, or choose an unused teleporter as a destination. If you picked a new area, generate a new room there, with one teleporter as the destination-teleporter. Only the character using the teleporter travels there. Teleporters do not permit monster movement. Mark a Teleporter with a small square inside the room.
| Roll | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Num | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | GM |
| Loc | N | S | E | W | N | S | E | W | N | S | E | W | N | S | GM |
| Type | St | St | Cr | Cr | Se | Wa | Wa | Do | Op | Fo | Fo | Tr | Tr | Te | GM |
St=Stair, Cr=Crumble, Se=Secret, Wa=Walldoor, Do=Door, Fo=Food, Tr=Treasure, Te=Teleporter, GM= GM’s choice[/sblock]
CONTENTS – [sblock]every room has contents, which refers to anything besides monsters. Roll on this table every time a new room has been found. Picking up contents requires one action. See the Combat section for collecting contents when enemies are present.
Password: the room contains a locked chest. The locked chest contains a scroll case. Inside the scroll case is a scroll with some mysterious writing. This writing can be a segment of campaign-related information, a riddle, or part of the ultimate password: the one needed for the characters to break free of the dungeon. The default writing, however, is just a magic word that can be used once to temporarily turn all wall segments into Stairs.
Roll 2: this increases the contents of the room by 1. Roll again.
Special: a Special content is a temporary boon, like Reflective Shot, Repulsiveness, or Teleportability. The group can add any other special contents they like before the game begins. If no Specials are desired, this result becomes a Roll 2. Reflective Shot reduces friendly fire results (1-2 becomes 1, and 1 becomes none). Repulsiveness prevents the character from being swarmed. Teleportability allows the character to teleport across walls, but that character cannot pick up any contents or wards. Each Special lasts 10 actions.
Potion: a magic potion causes a character’s magic power to flash out in a brief aura. Using a potion requires one action. When a character uses a potion, he rolls his Magic die six times to determine how much damage the closest swarm takes. In addition, this same amount of damage applies to the generators in the room. Once one generator takes enough to be destroyed, the remaining damage applies to the next generator. Potions also destroy Wraiths in the room on a one-for-one basis. For example, a room contains one swarm and three generators. A wizard uses a potion, and rolls 6d10, getting a total of 40. The nearest swarm in the room takes 40 damage to its health. Then the 40 damage applies to the generators as well. The first generator takes 10 damage, which is enough to destroy it. The second generator takes 20 damage, enough to destroy it as well. The third generator, which still has 20 health, takes the remaining 10 damage, so it remains with 10 health. Characters may shoot a potion, but shot potions cause only 6d6 damage. Characters may carry a combined maximum of 12 keys and potions.
Murder Hole: this is a hidden window on another room. Murder Holes can be hiding behind anything, but are typically just loose masonry that can be removed to view, and attack, another room. Determine a Murder Hole’s position by rolling on the Exit Location table. Murder Holes cannot share a wall with a room that has already been discovered. Once a Murder Hole has a location, map the room into which it looks as well. Note that opponents in the new room who have Shot attacks can attack through the Murder Hole as well (see Choke Points in the Combat section). If the new room contains a generator, PCs have a 50% chance to have a direct shot on it. A PC with reflective shot has a 75% chance to have a direct shot on the generator.
Key: a magic key has the ability to open any lock. Once it does so, it disappears. Characters may carry a combined maximum of 12 keys and potions.
Treasure: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. Inside the ward sits an open chest, brimming with riches. The ward prevents monsters and their shots from moving through it. The first character to touch this ward causes it to disappear, and gains 1 treasure point. Each treasure has a 50% chance of also containing a magic key.
None: unfortunately, some rooms have no contents – just a
chance of having contents.
Food: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. Inside the ward sits a plate, spilling over with delicious-looking food. The ward prevents monsters and their shots (but not PC shots) from moving through. A PC shot will destroy the ward and the food. The first character to touch the ward causes it to disappear, and gains 10 health.
Ale: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. Inside the ward sits a jug. The ward prevents monsters and their shots (but not PC shots) from moving through. A PC shot will destroy the ward and the ale. The first character to touch the ward causes it to disappear, and gains 5 health. When touching the Ale, it has a 25% chance to actually be Poison.
Poison: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. Inside the ward sits a jug. The ward prevents monsters and their shots (but not PC shots) from moving through. A PC shot will destroy the ward and the poison. The first character to touch the ward causes it to disappear, and loses 5 health. When touching the Poison, it has a 25% chance to actually be Ale.
Ward: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. The ward is empty. The ward prevents monsters and their shots from moving through. The first character to touch the ward may immediately open any previously discovered Door or Walldoor. A Ward has a 25% chance of actually being a Trap.
Trap: a magical ward fills a 10 foot diameter cylinder. The ward is empty. The ward prevents monsters and their shots from moving through. The first character to touch the ward falls through the illusion of the floor, discovering quicksand instead. You must succeed on a Speed contest to escape the trap. The trap gets +1 to its contest, or Level Bonus if you are Scaling the dungeon. A trap has a 25% chance of actually being a Ward.
Roll 3: this increases the contents of the room by 2. Roll two more times.
| Roll | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Result | Pa | R2 | Sp | Po | Mu | Ke | Tz | No | Fo | Al | Pz | Wa | Tr | R3 | GM |
Pa=Password, R2=Roll 2, Sp=Special, Po=Potion, Mu=Murder Hole, Ke=Key, Tz=Treasure, No=None, Fo=Food, Al=Ale, Pz=Poison, Wa=Ward, Tr=Trap, R3=Roll 3, GM=GM’s choice[/sblock]
SPECIAL LEVELS – [sblock]some dungeon levels are not the normal type of madness; they are a different type of madness, as follows.
Treasure levels: these levels appear in one of two situations: either immediately after a mini-boss level, or immediately after a level on which no PC picked up a treasure. On a treasure level, characters have 10 actions to collect as many treasures as they can. On each action, a character rolls a Speed contest, and collects a treasure for each point of his contest over 10. If two or more characters are competing, the competing characters roll their contests against each other; the character with the highest result collects a number of treasures equal to his contest less the next highest contest or 10, whichever is greater. No other competing characters collect treasure during that action. After the 10
th round, the level dissolves into oblivion, and characters find themselves in a new, normal level.
Mini-boss levels: these levels appear every 10 levels, for groups using the Scaling rules. This level has two rooms. The first room, where the characters begin, is a randomly rolled room with a minimum size of 2, which has no contents and only one encounter: a mini-boss (see Scaling). Behind the mini-boss is a Door, leading to a room with Stairs, which lead to a treasure level. When the mini-boss is defeated, it drops a magic key. The characters can use normal swarm rules to attempt to circumvent the mini-boss and open the door. However, if the characters do not kill the mini-boss, the Stairs will lead to a normal dungeon level instead of a treasure level.[/sblock]
Dungeon Generation Tables:
| Size | Shape | Exit-Loc | Exit-Typ | Exit-Num | Contents | SwSize (health) | Enc | Monstr |
| 2 | 1 | Square | North | Stair | 1 | Password | 1 | Wraith | Wizard |
| 3 | 2 | Rectangle | South | Stair | 2 | Roll 2 | 25% | Wraith | Wizard |
| 4 | 3 | Hallway | East | Crumble | 3 | Special | 50% | None | Demon |
| 5 | 4 | Triangle | West | Crumble | 4 | Potion | 75% | None | Demon |
| 6 | 5 | Circle | North | Secret | 1 | MurdHol | 100% | Roll 2 | Barb |
| 7 | 1 | Square | South | Walldoor | 2 | Key | 1 | Roll 2 | Barb |
| 8 | 2 | Rectangle | East | Walldoor | 3 | Treasure | 25% | Gen | Barb |
| 9 | 3 | Hallway | West | Door | 4 | None | 50% | Gen | Ghost |
| 10 | 4 | Triangle | North | Open | 2 | Food | 75% | Gen | Ghost |
| 11 | 5 | Circle | South | Food | 3 | Ale | 100% | Swarm | Hobbit |
| 12 | 1 | Square | East | Food | 4 | Poison | 1 | Swarm | Hobbit |
| 13 | 2 | Rectangle | West | Treasure | 1 | Ward | 25% | Mimic | Slime |
| 14 | 3 | Hallway | North | Treasure | 2 | Trap | 50% | Mimic | Slime |
| 15 | 4 | Triangle | South | Teleport | 3 | Roll 3 | 75% | GM | GM |
| 16 | GM | GM | GM | GM | GM | GM | GM | GM | GM |
